


Snooze (or Snuggle)

by coatsandjumpers



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 08:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2185095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coatsandjumpers/pseuds/coatsandjumpers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas doesn't like waking up. He likes early morning fire alarms even less.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snooze (or Snuggle)

Cas was not a morning person. He dreaded hearing his grating morning alarm, dreaded forcing himself to roll out of bed. His day usually started with hitting the snooze button multiple times and a subsequent string of curse words as he realized he had allowed himself to oversleep yet again. Cas considered himself someone who truly appreciated the value of sleep, and he had no problem with sleeping in until noon if he had the chance. Blankets and slightly rumpled sheets were a luxury to be thoroughly enjoyed. Comfortably sprawled over the bed, arm wedged underneath a pillow, Cas was blissfully enjoying unconsciousness.

The fire alarm cut through the relaxed atmosphere instantly. Jerking upright, Cas swore violently as his head pulsed with each ear-splitting blare. Cas pulled on the nearest pair of pants he could find (worn, soft grey sweats) and didn’t bother changing his shirt. Grabbing his phone, he groaned at the time: three in the morning. Cas knew the chances of there being a real fire in the building were probably unlikely, but he rushed to pick up his keys. He didn’t smell smoke and other than the irritatingly loud alarm, there didn’t seem to be any other signs of a serious fire. Cas decided against climbing out through the fire escape, as he figured he would probably fall off the building in his half-asleep state anyway.

Stepping quickly down the building’s stairs, Cas noticed the shouts of his neighbors and saw people scrambling to leave the building. The clamor was deafening, and Cas was grateful to step outside onto the sidewalk. For the first time since waking up, Cas paused to orient himself. Looking around, he noticed other residents milling about the building, with a fair amount of muttering and sleepy yet angry glances. Cas turned towards the building, where a steady stream of people was still evacuating, but failed to notice any kind of fire.

Already contemplating strangling the idiot who probably decided he wanted popcorn at three in the morning, Cas huffed, intensely irritated. In his rush to leave the apartment, he hadn’t exactly put that much thought into his outfit. His sweats were cozy, but his shirt was thin and he thought longingly of his nest of blankets. Until the managers of the building came down to update them on the situation, however, there was no way Cas could go back inside and go back to sleep. Thankfully, the snow of winter was long gone, but the cutting winds remained. Cas shivered, becoming more and more conscious of the miserable, freezing wait ahead of him.

“Hey, man, you okay?”

Still partially asleep, Cas blearily turned towards the voice. The man was a neighbor of his, but Cas had only talked to him briefly before. He was surprisingly put together, given the situation, with his hair only slightly disheveled and his clothes actually clothes instead of pajamas. Cas felt that he had absolutely no right to look so awake and cheerful, considering it was three in the morning and some imbecile had gone and set off the fire alarm. Not to mention Cas was cold. All in all, he wasn’t feeling very sociable.

Cas mumbled a quick “I’m fine” and turned back around, dutifully ignoring his neighbor’s unfairly attractive face. Cas heard the man approach him, saying, “Are you sure? You look really cold.”

Unable to help it, Cas turned his head towards where the man was standing. He could hardly deny his imminent hypothermia, because he was pretty sure his extremities were turning blue.

“Here,” the man said, shrugging out of his leather jacket. He held it out to Cas, saying “I’m Dean, by the way. I’ve seen you around. It’s Cas, right?”

Cas nodded, looking at Dean for a moment. Taking the ridiculously attractive man’s jacket was probably a terrible, terrible idea if Cas wanted to stay emotionally unattached to this most likely heterosexual man. But hell, it was three in the morning, Cas was tired, and he could almost believe that the only reason he wanted to wear that jacket was so he managed to survive the night without frostbite or hypothermia.

Leather was not part of Cas’s usual wardrobe. He figured he probably looked strange in Dean’s jacket, the well-worn material too cool and adventurous looking for him. Still, although the garment was a little big, the leather was surprisingly soft and Cas could actually feel his fingers again. He thanked Dean but realized that Dean was now standing on the sidewalk in only a shirt. It had sleeves, but Cas knew it wouldn’t offer much protection against the chill of the night air.

“Aren’t you cold?” Cas asked, concerned. Dean smiled but shook his head, saying he was fine.

“Besides,” he added, “if you’re really worried, we could always share body heat to stay warm.”

Cas stared at Dean, eyes almost comically wide. His brain struggled to process, but he knew he had to tamp down the rising hope in his chest. It was a joke! Dean didn’t mean anything! Dean was definitely not flirting with him. Cas’s brain reiterated that Dean’s innuendo was not a sign that he was gay and definitely not a sign that he was interested in Cas, but Cas’s heart couldn’t help skipping a beat anyway. Dean’s grinned, one eyebrow raised at Cas’s reaction.

Cas blushed deeply, finally managing to stutter out a “S-sure. If you’re cold, we should probably do that. To, um, conserve body heat. That’s probably a good idea. It’s really cold. So. Body heat.”

Dean cut off Cas’s rambling by putting his arm around Cas’s waist and turning so that they were facing each other. Silent now, Cas looked up at Dean, instantly noticing details like his freckles and the crows’ feet around his eyes. Cas realized he was staring, and he cast around for a suitable topic of conversation.

“So which recently graduated idiot of a college student set off the fire alarm this time?” Cas realized that this was probably the longest sentence he had said in front of Dean tonight, and that it made him sound like a grumpy old man. Dean didn’t seem to mind though, as he laughed and said, “You know that kid on the second floor? The one who likes to play loud music at night? I heard it was him.”

Cas shook his head, unsurprised. That kid was a nuisance.

“I don’t know though,” Dean continued “I’m not feeling all that angry at him right now.”

Cas raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? Well, some of us actually need the beauty sleep.”

Dean laughed, surprised.

“Was that a compliment?”

Cas simply looked back at him, even as he felt his pulse speed up when he realized what he had let slip. Dean must have come to some conclusion though, as he tightened his hold on Cas and said “I was going to say that I wasn’t angry at the kid because this is the first time I’ve actually gotten to talk to you.”

Cas felt his eyes widen, and he couldn’t help the hope that sprung from Dean’s words.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you for ages, but I just couldn’t-“ Dean broke off, shy and uncertain. Dean’s confident attitude had been replaced by a hesitancy that Cas couldn’t help but find endearing. Dean was blushing now, studying Cas carefully for his reaction. Cas was frozen, and Dean began to look like he was regretting saying anything.

“Look, Cas, I’m sorry. We’ve barely talked. This is probably really weird. Just forget I said anything, okay?” Dean was starting to move away, his arm slipping from where it was resting around Cas’s waist.

“Dean,” Cas said. “Wait. Do you maybe want to come up to my place for coffee? When this whole fire alarm fiasco is over?”

Dean looked surprised for a moment, but a second later his face split into a wide grin.

“I’d love to.”

Cas decided this was a good moment to snuggle back towards Dean, until both of Dean’s arms were wrapped around him and both of them were suitably warm. Cas rested his head against Dean’s shoulder, allowing his eyes to close. It was some godforsaken hour of the morning, and Cas felt tired and excited all at the same time. The two stood huddled outside of their apartment building, gentle smiles on their faces. They waited in silence, content to let the time pass in peace.

When the building managers finally appeared an hour later with a young college graduate who was apologizing to sleep-deprived, snappy tenants profusely, Dean roused Cas from his place on Dean’s shoulder. The two climbed the stairs to Cas’s apartment, sleepy but strangely content. Cas tugged Dean into his apartment, moving past the kitchen and heading straight for the bed. Coffee could wait for a time that wasn’t four in the morning. Grateful for the returned warmth of his blankets, Cas immediately scooted to one side so Dean could slip under the covers. Both of them were too exhausted to consider awkwardness. Dean’s arms slipped around Cas easily, and they snuggled into each other’s warmth.

Cas woke up with Dean wrapped around him, legs tangled in his. He had never been a morning person, but on this particular morning, his head resting on Dean’s chest and his fingers loosely splayed on the small of Dean’s back, Cas had never hated his alarm clock more.

**Author's Note:**

> I won't be held responsible for what my brain comes up with past one in the morning.
> 
> Thanks to [adjourn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/adjourn/pseuds/adjourn) for her never-ending encouragement and her willingness to tolerate my fluff-obsessed self.


End file.
